Take It To The Sky
by chivalry-is-dead
Summary: The Kiloyreans, an ancient race of Atmos, have all but become extinct.  They live on the Lost Isles, away from civilization.  And they're only contact is with a girl by the name of Piper.  AerrowxOC or FinnxOC please review and rate
1. Prologue

Take It To The Sky

Prologue:

Name: Crystallin

Age: 14 years old

Race: Kiloyrean (made up)

Relatives: Vaynna (Mother), Torin (Father), Coral and Cameron (twins-unborn)

Looks: White hair with black streaks, straight until ends which are bouncy curls, which are black; about 5'10", beautiful, even by the Kiloyrean standards who are considered the most beautiful people on Atmos; twin light blue diamonds on her pale forehead, the bottoms of the diamonds barely touching in a v-shape; pale skin; aqua-green eyes; white cat ears with black tips; white wings with black fletching; white tail with black tip

Weapon: Silver-white bow, uses her own hair as the bowstring, has black tattoo fletching covering the whole bow; arrows she makes herself through her cultivation of crystals and can make as many as she needs on the spot; long and white sword, has a black hilt, silver ends, and silver design on the pure white blade.

Personality: Very caring, polite, calm, light-hearted, easy to make friends with; often gives sad and small smiles; loves her family; good childhood friends with Piper (still is a good friend with Piper); knows how to have fun once in a while; skilled with the bow and hand-to-hand combat; enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, playing with the animals on the isle, and later, playing with her baby sisters; dislikes the Cyclonians for forcing them out of their home.


	2. Finding the Lost Isle

Take It To The Sky

Prologue:

Chapter 1: Finding the Lost Isle

"Er…Piper, what're we lookin' for again?" asked a very bored Finn, looking out the window, sagging against it in sheer boredom.

"Um…a special friend of mine…who…who I haven't seen in a long time! Now quit the chit-chat and just keep looking!" snapped back an annoyed and fidgety Piper. She was looking at her charts, but secretly looking at the note that her friend had sent.

"So, Piper, this has to be a really special friend if you're willing to make an effort in finding them, especially if we wasted about 4 days to look for them. So tell us, who is this special friend of yours?" asked Aerrow, getting up from the periscope and looking at Piper. Everyone turned expectedly to Piper who became even more fidgety, looking like Stork a little.

"Well…er…it's a she and…well…I'm not supposed to talk about her to you," she said in a nervous and embarrassed tone, trying to dig a hole in the ground with her left foot.

"Well if it's a she, say hello to the Finnster! Sharp shooter and ladies-oof!" Finn stopped in mid-sentence, elbowed by Piper.

"Don't even try it Finn. She's definitely not going to fall for you," sighed Piper, annoyed and ending in a tone that confirmed she wanted to stop talking about it. Aerrow told everyone to back off and they went back to looking. Piper sighed again, looking at the white paper with silver edges. She read it again, confirming her beliefs:

'_Dear Piper,_

_It's been a while, hasn't it? Almost 6 years, meaning the last time we saw each other was…when we were 8, right? We've been on the run for what seems like ages and we finally set upon a secret and secluded spot. If this letter falls in the wrong hands, here's a clue to where we might be: take it to the sky. I know you're navigation skills are divine, and hopefully you remember the game we once played when we were young and you used to visit me often. I've missed you Piper, you were my best friend. Please come visit as soon as you can, whenever it's convenient._

_I'll be sending this via Nympho, who is as you might have guessed, a hawk. I've heard that you've joined the Storm Hawks, so I thought it was appropriate. I'm hoping that you're well cared for on that team. Well, Nympho is getting restless, so I guess I have to cut this letter short._

_Your best friend,_

_Crystallin_

Piper smiled at the letter, her long lost friend, Crystallin finally contacted her. She knew the situation that plagued Crystallin, but she also wanted to see her friend. Checking her charts to see that they were in the right course, she checked the paper beside the letter, which decoded the clue: take it to the sky-coordinates 6-2-6. She remembered the game, making secret clues that were actually numbers and could decipher if they knew the code.

"Hey! I think I see something!" yelled out an enthusiastic Finn, snapping Piper out of her reverie. They all rushed to the window to spot a terra, or actually an isle, floating in the sky, small blue lights seen dotting the outside of the terra, one on the very top of the isle. Stork quickly rushed back to take the Condor down to the isle, seeing that the blue lights were actually aurora stones.

"Aurora stones?!? How the heck do they have ten aurora stones?" exclaimed Finn, counting the lights that were now growing larger. The blue stones shined at their presence, blinking in and out. A blue shield was enacted, but slowly started to fade away at the sight of the ship.

"Huh? They're letting us in, just like that?" Aerrow questioned, but saw 3 beings flying up to them, not on skimmers, but using wings. The three beings landed gracefully on the balcony of the Condor, the leader clad in a flowing white robe, a silver-white mask covering her face. It was obvious the leader was a female, curves showing through the robe and long legs revealing themselves as the wind blew some of the robe away from her feet. The two flanking her were males, strong and tan broad shoulders bare, only tight, sleeveless black shirts with a v-neck on their chests, black robes covering the lower half of their body.

The female removed her mask, revealing a pale face, twin blue diamonds on her forehead, white hair falling forward a little, her bangs covering her face, black curls ending the white hair. She looked forward to Piper, her aquamarine eyes glistening with tears. Piper took a quick intake of air and walked forward, cautiously. The other female also walked up, but more briskly, and the two looked at each other, face to face. Suddenly, the female and Piper burst into tears and hugged each other, tears streaming down both of their faces.

"What the heck? Piper, you know her?" asked Aerrow, cautiously moving forward to the two girls, along with the rest of the Storm Hawks. The two males flanking the other female also walked forward, eyeing the male Storm Hawks.

"Of course! This is the special friend I was talking about," she exclaimed, wiping away the tears, "Storm Hawks, this is Crystallin; she used to be my best friends when we were kids! And Crystallin, these guys are the Storm Hawks!" Crystallin wiped her eyes and smiled brightly, the Storm Hawks suddenly noticed two big white cat ears twitching, black on the ends, in happiness.

"Welcome, Storm Hawks! I have heard much about you in the reply! As Piper has said before, I am Crystallin! And I welcome you to the Lost Kiloyrean Isles!" Crystallin exclaimed with a flourish and bowing low, "Come, follow me and my escorts to the landing area." Crystallin put her mask on her face and her wings flared out, running back to the balcony and jumped. Her form disappeared for a bit and then reappeared, flying towards the floating isles. Her escorts quickly followed, simply unfurling their wings and flying off the balcony.

Stork piloted the Condor towards the area where Crystallin was leading them to, shifting the levers slightly to follow her. Landing shortly and roughly, the Storm Hawks exited and gasped at the beauty around them. Lush green forests and plains rolled out before them, a large waterfall seen just above the line of trees, the freefalling water creating a mist and a beautiful rainbow. The plains were dotted with small lakes, other people set around the lakes, eating and playing as if they were having picnics.

Crystallin greeted them once more, shedding the heavy white robe to reveal a dress that resembled a simple translucent white cloth that wrapped around the back of her neck and went down her front in the manner of a bikini. It then was trapped by a belt and it flowed out into a long skirt that had a slit that showed her left leg quite nicely. Her back was bare, the belt just above her hips which connected the two ends of the cloth so that it would form the long skirt. Her pale skin looked like porcelain, and looked just as fragile. Her cat tail, long with a black tip, swung to and fro with excitement.

"Hello, everyone, if you will follow me this way, I'll take you to meet our elders and my family," she instructed everyone with a smile, turning about, making her dress swish and reveal her legs again. Finn stared at her with a gaping hole of a mouth and was practically drooling until Piper hit him on the head.

"Don't even think about it Finn. As her best friend, I should know which guys she likes and which guys she doesn't like. You're in the latter category Finn," Piper whispered harshly, turning to follow her friend. Finn frowned, but pushed it away with a laid-back smile. Aerrow followed behind Piper and gave Finn the back-off-since-you're-gonna-get-rejected-anyway look, Radarr shaking his head as Finn pouted in defiance.

"Well, she really is kind of out of your league Finn…" Junko told Finn, patting him on the back, but injuring Finn in the process. Stork snickered a bit and Finn frowned even more, but wincing as Junko's hand roughly hit (patting to Junko) him on the back. Finn shook him off and dashed toward the head of the group, passing Aerrow who looked incredulous at Finn, then Piper who looked outraged.

"So…you're name's Crystallin, right?" asked Finn, smiling his best.

"Yes…and you must be…um…that "blonde knuckle-headed boarder", Finn, right?" she replied, trying to remember what Piper had written in the reply that she sent back with her hawk. Unfazed by the description, Finn smiled a bigger smile, if possible.

"Yup, that's me al-…hey!" Finn pouted again and looked at Piper expectedly. Piper just smirked a little smirk and shrugged with her hands out. Turning back to Crystallin, he put his smile back on and went on with his more customary introduction.

"Yeah, Finn's the name. Expert sharpshooter and all-time ladies' man!" he said, trying to sound smooth, posing and pushing his blonde, spiky hair back. At this, Crystallin giggled cutely and made Finn blush a bit.

"You're funny, I like that," she replied to his display of manliness and turned back to see that they had reached the palace, "We're here! Alright, everyone, this is the palace of my mother and my father, also the homes of our human friends. Piper, I think you remember this place, right?" Everyone gasped at the palace, a regal palace made of various crystals, smooth and perfect. It gleamed with such a sparkle, and it was worth a fortune, sun crystals, wind crystals, swarm crystals, you name it, it was made of it.

"Auuggghhhh!!" an unearthly scream shook everyone to the roots, another blood curdling scream following right after. Crystallin gasped and her eyes went wide as she uncovered her cat ears.


	3. Babies!

chiv-id: Thanks the two people who reviewed! I really honestly didn't think that I'd get reviews so fast! Anyways, from the two people who reviewed so far, I guess Finn is really kind of out of Crystallin's league. But another person wanted an AerrowXPiper thing...still deciding, but I'm thinking I'm going to have a little FinnXOC fun before deciding. Please keep up the reviews! I've got another chapter coming, so the more reviews, the more chapters! Thanks and enjoy the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks in any way, but I do own Crystallin! And the Kiloyreans!

* * *

Chapter 2: Babies!

"Mother! Oh no! Not now, not now, not now, NOT NOW!" she bellowed in a panic and her wings unfurled and she took off and flew inside the doors of the palace, slamming them open. The Storm Hawks ran inside with her, confused but afraid at the same time.

"Crystallin! Crystallin! Wait, what's happening?!?" Piper cried out, panting a little as she ran up the tower of stairs.

"My mother! Oh god, she's too early!" Crystallin shrieked, not explaining a thing and beating her wings even faster. Finally, they reached the tallest tower and another bone-shaking scream was heard through out the hall.

"Vaynna, push, push! You can do it!" a male voice cried out, but drowned out instantly in another scream. Crystallin rushed into the room on the right next to the stairs, the Storm Hawks timidly stepping into the room.

A female Kiloyrean was propped up on the bed, her legs spread out with a male human between her legs, the Kiloyrean screaming bloody murder. A male Kiloyrean held her hand in his right, his left hand covering his ears. The female was pure white, her cat tail and her ears a delicate snowy white, blood red eyes closed in pain. The male was the opposite of his mate, his tails and ears as black as night and his own two yellow eyes were shut due to the screams. The white female was in labor and it seemed very evident by her screams and her bulging stomach, the male looking frantic, but seeming to calm a bit when he saw Crstyallin.

"Daughter! Thank goodness, where were you? Your mother went straight into labor after you left her," the male, presumably Crystallin's father, scolded and went back to petting his mate's hand.

"I'm sorry, you remember Piper?" she asked her father apologetically, pointing her finger to Piper, "My friend just arrived and I wanted to greet her. I thought Sela said it was too soon?" Crystallin turned her attention to the human, Dr. Sela, crouched between her mother's legs, trying to deliver.

"Oh dear! Vaynna, we have twins! And they're trying to get out at the same time! Hold on, dear, just a little more!" cried the doctor, presumably pulling on the twins, making the mother scream in pain. Everyone held their ears at the last scream, then the mother sunk further into the bed in exhaustion. The father looked extremely relieved as the delivery was over, bending over to kiss his mate's forehead. She looked wearily at him and smiled weakly, looking to see her daughter standing next to her mate.

"Crstyallin…where…where did you go? I was calling for you when my water broke…" her mother whispered, laying into the pillow as the doctor cleaned the newborns, soft mewls heard in the room.

"Piper came back, so I just…I didn't mean to…I'm sorry," Crystallin said with guilt, looking at her mother with sorrowful eyes.

"Well, at least you didn't miss the delivery…despite how painful it was…" the father said with a chuckle, tenderly touching his own cat ears on the latter part.

"Vaynna, your twins. They're girls," Sela said with happiness, handing the two bundles to the mother on the other side of the bed. Everyone gathered around the bed to look at the newborn. The baby girl in Vaynna's right arm was a pure white, like her mother. The baby girl in Vaynna's left arm was an unearthly black, like her father. The baby girl on the right was quiet and mewled softly, her eyes opening to reveal pink eyes. The baby girl on the left was struggling a bit, trying to free herself from the cloth and wailing a bit, her bright orange eyes closed tight in frustration.

"What are their names?" asked Crystallin, but was surprised when her mother handed the quiet babe over to Crystallin, handing the louder babe over to her mate.

"Why don't you name them? I think it would be fitting for the our new eldest sister, wouldn't you?" Vaynna smiled and held her mate's arm so that she could be close to the wailing little one, calming her down with a simple stroking of the soft cheek.

"Me? Well…um…" Crystallin looked down to the quiet one in her arms and glowed with happiness as the quiet one looked up and blinked at her oldest sister, "I think your name should be Coral, her eyes are pink. You like that?" asked Crystallin, the babe in her arms gurgling with delight, pulling at the black curls and looked amazed at how they changed from black and then white when her eyes trailed upwards on the lock of hair.

"And how about you be Cam, short for Cameron, for orange, since your eyes are orange," Crystallin, went over and bent down to kiss her other sister's forehead, the girl squirming from the kiss but after looked at her sister and gave a toothless smile, trying to grab her sister's locks of hair too. Then the two baby sisters looked at each other and tried to get to each other, Crystallin bending down to let the two look at each other better.

The two reached out and their hands touched, cooing slightly. The Storm Hawks moved in a little to see the two infants, Piper barely holding in her enthusiasm.

"Oh, they're so cute! Oh, sorry," Piper said, embarrassed, "It's me, Piper. You remember me?"

"Oh Piper! How are you dear, I haven't seen you since the Great Flee! Six years ago I believe," Vaynna smiled and motioned for Piper to come closer and hugged her, "You've grown so big since then, and I see you've kept the crystal we've cultivated for you!" Vaynna touched the crystal embedded into Piper's uniform, a sky blue and shined.

"That was a crystal? I thought it was just a piece of the uniform," Finn said confused, scratching his head a little.

"No, it's a crystal, a weather crystal. It was Crystallin's first crystal, so she wanted me to have it. I've kept it with me for years!" Piper smiled and touched the crystal herself, looking back at Crystallin. She smiled back and hugged Piper, careful not to squish the newborn. Crystallin then let Piper hold her baby sister, totally trusting of her best friend. Piper stared at the babe and whispered how beautiful she looked, running her fingers over the head. The babe then happily mewled, closing her eyes at the touch.

"I wish I had little sisters that were this cute…" wished Piper, making Vaynna chuckle, holding her arms out for her babies. They were returned to the mother, both falling asleep in their mother's arms.

"I think the babes should get more familiarized with the mother and the father, Crystallin, try to entertain the guests while the newborns become accustomed to their first few hours of life," Dr. Sela whispered, ushering out the newly-made elder sister and her friends. After being shut out, they quietly rushed out of the palace, Crystallin leading them to an unoccupied pond.

"So, you're a sister now. I'm happy for you," Piper said happily, hugging Crystallin who was sitting down. Crystallin stared down at the shallow pool of water and draped her arm over her friends, her tail motionless. Piper noticed the sudden change in mood, sitting down beside her friend, the guys just talking amongst themselves on the other side.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy to have sisters? I'd be," Piper asked, trying to look into Crystallin's eyes.

"I...I am, it's just that I just left her like that, you know? I knew that my mother was pregnant and very close to giving birth, but...I just left her there," Crystallin said sadly, her ears drooping.

"Hey, you said it yourself. The doctor said the delivery would probably be later. You just thought you had more time, it's not like you abandoned her on purpose," Piper reassured her, patting her arm and nodding understandingly.

"Yeah…but I feel so guilty about it. Well, at least the babes are healthy, right?" Crystallin whispered with a small smile, turning to Piper.

"Yup, and they're so cute!" Piper laughed, Crystallin giggling and agreeing with Piper. The girls laughed a little and then hugged each other once more, looking at the water's edge and recalling their past and what had happened since then.

* * *

chiv-id: So, that's the end of the second chapter, a little longer than the first one. Alright, so next time, we're going to-

Crystallin: You're going to give too much away, you know?

chiv-id: Can't help it! Well, stopped by my own character, I'll just give you a little preview instead!

Piper: I agree with Crystallin, you're going to give way too much away.

chiv-id: ...Not even a little?

All of the Storm Hawks including Crystallin: NO!

chiv-id: Jeez, menstral much? Anyways, see ya soon!


	4. The Past and the Present

chiv-id: Well, I'm a little disappointed that there are still only 2 reviews...I guess its because I didn't update soon enough...well, if I could possibly have more, maybe I'll type a little faster! Anyway, um, who'd like to do the disclaimer?

Finn: I want it! I want to do it!

Aerrow: Okay, Finn, you can do the disclaimer.

Finn: Aw yeah! Okay, so:

Disclaimer: chivalry-is-dead does not own Storm Hawks! (Starts yelling and smiling goofily)

Crystallin: So, Finn is like this all the time?

Piper: Yeah (sighs) unfortunately...

chiv-id: (sweatdrops) Well, err, just a little info here, you're going to learn a little bit more on Crystallin's and Piper's past, 'kay? Alright, on with the chapter!

* * *

Take It To The Sky

Chapter 3: The Past and the Present

"Six years ago…we were separated from each other, Piper, by the Cyclonians, under Master Cyclonis. And you're telling me Master Cyclonis is back?!? I thought he was destroyed by the previous Storm Hawks?" Crystallin commented incredulously with distaste, her eyes narrowing and her ears pressing flat to the back of her head, her tail twitching.

"Yes, but this Master Cyclonis is a girl and she's just as old as us," Piper tried to explain, knowing how…tentative Crystallin got whenever the subject of Cyclonians was brought up, "And she's been keeping us busy since she first began her conquest."

"Still…" Crystallin hissed, her delicate hands transforming into rock hard fists, "Why…why didn't Cyclonia just lay down and die!" Crystallin was now trembling with anger as she remembered the first time she encountered the former Master Cyclonis and his terrible armies of talons…

_Flashback_

_"What's happening?" "It's Master Cyclonis!" "No! It cannot be!" "RUN!"_

_Everyone ran as the talons attacked the ancient dwelling, Terra Kiloyrean, their beautiful home bursting into flames wherever the talons flew over and landed in. Men, women, children, no one was spared as the destruction of the ancient race's home spread. A small child, only 6 years old, cowered beneath the imposing figure of the great and terrible Master Cyclonis, holding forth a wicked black metal staff, an oblivion crystal being shoved straight into the poor girl's face._

_"We have the slaves you required, sir. Would you like us to exterminate the others?" asked a tall man with dark red eyes, black hair falling over those eyes that stared back up at his master while bowing to him. The dark master's smirk could be seen under the hood of his cloak, the man smirking back and stood straight, turning his back and ordering the talons to continue with the destruction, this time, though, no prisoners._

_"Talons! Master Cyclonis withdraws his deed of mercy, continue with the destruction!" cried the dark man, the talons all crying out in sheer joy at the now withdrawn policy of mercy. The slaughter began, sprays of blood seen everywhere. The girl was still being held captive by Master Cyclonis, now turning back to her and ended his smirk with a grimace._

_"It seems that your luck just ran out, little one," he whispered evilly, the girl shuddering at his words, "You have no purpose, be gone." He raised the staff about to obliterate her when a black panther with great white wings jumped in front and snarled at the Master, making him pause in surprise._

_"Run!" cried the black panther, pouncing on the surprised sorcerer, the girl nodding back and fled, using her own wings to get away. She heard a dying yowl and looked at the panther, purple energy slowly torturing him into his more human form, a young man with black hair and dark black eyes staring at her retreating figure. Soon, the purple energy was gone and so was the light in the eyes, now dead and forever staring. The girl gave a wail, but did not go back as the dark master began firing bolts of oblivion crystal at her. Finally, she escaped, her family with her and few others, off the terra and away from their now desolate homeland. The child looked back one last time from the fleeing ship, her white hair trailed down her face, black curls shadowing her neck and shoulders. She peered down from the carrier and tears sprung from her sapphire eyes as she ran those beautiful blue eyes over her home, her once magnificent and scenic land._

_"Crystallin, come away from the window," her mother called, walking over to her and pulling her away. Crystallin's eyes stayed glued to the sight however and a deep anguished moan sprang from her lips and she squat down and cried, her mother covering her in panic._

_"You're not hurt are you?" asked Vaynna, concern welling up inside with the sorrow that she felt for her homeland. Crystallin shook her head and just kept crying for a while._

_"Kane…he's…he's…" she sobbed, trying to get out the words that her friend was dead, the black panther that was her once good friend, gone. Her mother nodded in a sad understanding way and just petted her head soothingly until her tremors of sorrow were gone. Sniffing, Crystallin finally looked up and around, searching for someone._

_"Piper…where is she?" she asked, looking her mother straight in the eye, pleading silently for her mother to tell her that Piper was alright._

_"She's fine, she escaped just before they hit the terra…but I don't think we can see her if we could. The Cyclonians…they took many of our clan, Crystallin, enough to make more Kiloyreans of their own. They'll want to destroy us, just to make sure we don't ally with their enemies in Atmos. Please understand, if we try to visit Piper, or anyone else again…we'd put them in real danger. For their sake and ours, we must find another place to call our home, away from Cyclonia, and away from Atmos," Vaynna whispered, holding her daughter, her chin atop her daughter's head. Crystallin was in a small state of shock, but understood. It was as if seeing her friend die had caused her to mature into a more knowledgeable being and knew that even if she wanted to see Piper…it would be disastrous._

_"Yes…mother, I understand," she whispered back, wrapping her arms around her mother in return. On the ship, what little was left of the Kiloyreans, huddled together on the ship in mass, surrounded by the many humans who stood to protect the Kiloyreans and gave up their own homes to protect the Kiloyreans in return. Everyone was terrified and distraught, but they held on and eventually found their new home after a small period of 6 months. Finally, they heard the news of Master Cyclonis being defeated by the Storm Hawks, brought in by a Sky Knight that had tagged along with the Kiloyreans and had just risked his life to see if the dark master was still about._

_It seemed as if their lives had become so much bright that day…_

_End Flashback_

"That day, everything was taken from us and the day Master Cyclonis was gone we were so happy. It seemed as if all the wrong doings in our world had disappeared, we were free, free from the reign of terror that he often plagued us with," tears began to form in her delicate blue eyes, "And now…and now…" Crystallin began to sob a little and Piper held her, stroking her head and putting her head on Crystallin's head. This only brought Crystallin more memories of the dreaded doomsday so long ago.

"And now Cyclonia and all of its evil is back!" she spat, pulling away from Piper, "I don't expect you to remember, but that day so many of my relatives died along with my friends. I saw Kane get murdered in front of my eyes!" At this Piper's eyes widened, remembering the boy with striking deep black eyes and tousled black hair, a smile on his face, 9 years old at the time Piper and Crystallin still played together. Piper didn't know that Kane had died, leaving just before the Cyclonians had landed, but remembering the desolation of viewing the homeland after…

_Another Flashback_

_"Mom…who are they?" asked a 6-year-old Piper, pointing at the gigantic red blob of Cyclonian talons. Her mother blanched, along with the rest of the crew of their small ship. Hurriedly, they ducked into a blanket of clouds, shielding them in the dark of night against the terrible current of Cyclonian skimmers and carrier ships._

_"Oh no…it cannot be," whispered Piper's mother, Piper's father rushing over to the periscope of the ship and turned on the night vision. He stared at the destruction of the home, putting it up on screen and ushering out Piper into her room. The crew all gasped at the slaughter and the destruction, but then heard a sobbing and found that Piper had snuck out and had watched it all happen as well._

_"Dear…this isn't for you to see," her father said softly, gathering up his bundle of joy, now a bundle of terror-stricken Piper, to put her to sleep in her room._

_"Dad…dad, what about Crystallin? What about Kane? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM?" she cried harshly, her sobs shaking her father's shoulder._

_"I…I don't know. The best thing would be to go back down after the Cyclonians leave," her father whispered, kissing her forehead as he tucked her into bed. The next morning, the Cyclonians had finally ended their waves of destruction and flew away, thundering by a still unnoticed carrier of humans. Piper's father flew the ship back down and they all filed out single file, taking in the scenery._

_The lush green fields were gone, only dark patches of blood stained into the hard rocky soil that was once rolling rivers and streams. Millions of foot prints were left, trampling the beautiful native plants that had once flourished. They came across many charred corpses, too burnt to tell their identity, only the skeletal bones of wings visible on the smoky dead were available to tell that it was the bodies of many Kiloyreans that littered the black and brown landscape that was once known as Terra Kiloyrean._

_Everyone mourned the loss of such an innocent race, a special race indeed. With the power to manifest and cultivate crystals, it made them the most valuable species on the whole of Atmos. If not for them, there would be a major shortage of crystals, but with their species, they've kept the line of crystals going for all. Now, most of them were gone and the slow depletion of crystals began._

_Piper looked at the destruction and tears welled in her beautiful golden eyes._

_'Crystallin…Kane…where are you? Are you dead?' she thought, unbeknownst to her, she was standing at the base of Kane's corpse. Piper let loose her tears, spilling over as she too let loose a cry that made everyone break down and grieve the death of so many friends…_

_End Flashback_

"I…I never knew, I'm sorry…" she whispered apologetically, feeling tears coming on as she realized how many people had been sacrificed that day.

"It's…it's not your fault, I shouldn't have spilled on you like that…" Crystallin apologized, wiping away both of their tears, "It's just that…I just wish that the Cyclonians had never existed. Forget the balance of good and evil. The fact is that there's a lot more evil in this world and the balance is already screwed!" Piper looked over to Crystallin, surprised she had used the word 'screwed'. Crystallin looked surprised as well, putting her hand to her lips as if to quell them. They looked over at each other and broke out in laughter, a soft quiet laughter that helped lighten the mood. Crystallin wiped her eyes again and smiled weakly, hugging Piper and looking over to the Storm Hawks.

"I am…happy you found more friends. Despite them being boys. How is it to live with only boys, I've tried to imagine it, but never could," questioned Crystallin, trying to get off of the terrible subject.

"Well, it's not easy let me tell you…Finn's probably the worst one. Stork mainly keeps to himself, Junko often tags along with Finn, but he's more level headed. Aerrow is a good guy, he listens to everyone's problems, even my own, and always tries to do the right thing," Piper replied, respecting Crystallin's wishes to not talk about the past, "But, I've always wanted to hang out with another girl, you know? Just to be girls…I actually experienced that once, but…she…she wasn't…" Crystallin's ears pressed to the sides of her head a little as she saw that her friend was upset. She crawled over a little and tried looking straight into her eyes.

"Piper…who was it? Did she hurt you?" asked Crystallin, Piper finally looking up and straight into Crystallin's eyes.

"It was Master Cyclonis and despite being the new dark master…mistress…new dark being, I knew she was lonely. One day, we were looking through some garbage and I found a map that looked important to the Cyclonians. We were caught in a storm and while I was trying to get the map, I got caught in the storm, you see, and then I was saved by her," Piper paused as Crystallin looked incredulous and a bit haughty, "I know, right? But the thing is that she wanted to assess me, to see what I could do, so she used a shielding crystal to change her looks and said her name was Lark instead. We talked and had some fun before we finally went to the terra that was on the map, called Terra Tundra. Cyclonis then asked me to join her, but I refused. Then we fought, but she knew my moves and she knew me. I also knew her, and I saw her as a lonely girl who wanted a friend…" Piper took a deep breath before continuing.

"Then, she tried to use an oblivion crystal on me, but it was a dud. It only works if you see them as an enemy, a _hated_ enemy. I knew that if you befriended them, even if it was just a moment, it wouldn't work. And it didn't. Honestly, I'm still wondering if she's a dark master or a regular girl…" Piper ended, looking up to the heavens and wondering what the dark master was doing.

"Well, don't worry about. From what you're telling me, at least this person has a heart. The former Master Cyclonis…" Crystallin trailed off to shudder and give a small tremble, "Anyways, what have you been up to since you got here? I've just been here on this isle since the time of the Daehta, or Invasion, and there hasn't really been much excitement here to be honest."

"Well, all we've been doing is fighting the Cyclonians, we got into some pretty interesting situations though," Piper giggled, remembering when Finn had come down with Gorge Madness once and tried to eat his shoe.

"Well, tell me after because I think you're friends are trying to catch your attention…" Crystallin pointed to the other side of the pond where the boys were. Junko used his Knuckle-Busters and made a giant wave with Finn riding a board and Aerrow riding another board with Radarr on the sidelines trying not to get wet. Then, they crashed, to which Crystallin and Piper winced and muttered a soft "ooh…".

"Are you guys okay?" shouted Piper, Aerrow and Finn dragging themselves out of the pond and coughing, but turning and giving weak smiles, thumbs up.

"I bet these guys are going to be the death of themselves one day…" Piper sighed, smiling as she saw Radarr come over and pat Aerrow on the back a bit roughly to get the water out, causing Aerrow to cough even more.

"We're going to have a banquet to celebrate the twin's birth tonight. It wasn't expected until a month or two later, but we already had everything set up. Would you and the Storm Hawks like to go to the banquet tonight? The whole clan and our human friends will be there," Crystallin pleaded, her tail flopping to and fro in excitement.

"Of course! But…I have to warn you about their table manners…Aerrow's okay, but…the others…" Piper trailed off in emphasis on how bad the guys were at eating formally. Crystallin just smiled and even giggled a little.

"It's alright, the adults will be separated from the teens and the kids. Don't worry the kids will be separated from the teens, too," Crystallin reassured, getting a dreading look from Piper, "Now, you and your friends can chill here for a little while I talk to my mom a bit. We'll have to squeeze you in a bit since the table for the teens is a little small." Crystallin stood up, stretched a little and flexed, strong muscles rippling slightly underneath the surface of her near alabaster skin, particularly around her middle and her shoulders. Then she bounded away, Piper smiling after her and looked to the water's edge.

'She sure has changed since we were kids…she was kind of scrawny, but she's been working out…' Piper then looked up to see Junko still trying to get the water out of Finn, Aerrow and Radarr trying to get Finn out of the bone-crushing Heimlich maneuver. She giggled again, a little more nervously though.

'This is going to be _so_ embarrassing,' thought Piper, smacking the palm of her hand onto her forehead as she saw Finn go partially blue and an apologetic Wallop shake the poor blonde surfer back to consciousness with Aerrow and Radarr getting water and spilling it on Finn's face.

* * *

chiv-id: I hope that you all liked this chapter! 

Piper: I'm going to hate the next chapter, aren't I?

chiv-id: Well, err, I...maybeeehh...

Crystallin: Why? (so oblivious)

All Storm Hawks and chiv-id: (sweatdrop) Errr...nothing...

chiv-id: (still sweatdropping) Well, you will all just have to bear with the suspense until the next chapter, 'kay? See ya! Give me reviews! I need them!


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